edithhillinger.org

My work is abstract but rooted in my life experiences. These collages are infused with the idea of thenomadic life. This was the pattern of my early life starting out in Germany, growing up in Turkey and then coming to the United States. The work brings together all I have gathered from these very different cultures and the circumstances of my personal life. Added to that is my long time interest in archetypal patterns such as the zigzag pattern found on Hittite gold vessels, Indian baskets or as tattoos on the faces of Maori chiefs: architectural patterns found in Islamic, Byzantine and modern architecture; patterns found in nature; the meandering patterns found in the work of some Aborigine and African art.

My work as a feminist artist started when I was an art student at Cooper Union, almost ten years before the movement really started to gain momentum in New York. In 1971 I joined the Women In the Arts foundation, one of the earliest feminist collectives in New York. I am still a member today. In 1975 I was awarded The International Women’s Year Award for my work. My area of special interest is women artists’ legacies and the difficulty women have securing a place in art history because their work disappears after they die. I continue to work on this problem and give lectures on this topic. In 2014 I founded the Bay Area Women Artists Legacy Project. My work Is included in the Who is Afraid of Feminism catalog 2015 which includes my essay about the BAWA Legacy Project. In the fall of 2015 I will be giving a lecture on this topic in New York.